In most conventional vehicles, such as cars, trucks and SUV's, the foot wells for the occupants are carpeted. Vehicle floor covers, including floor mats and trays, have been provided to protect the foot wells of these vehicles. However, vehicle drivers and passengers tend to move their feet around, which can bunch up or cause folding of a mat, or possibly shift the position of the mat or tray, causing the gas, brake or clutch pedals, or other vehicle controls or features, to be occluded. Vehicle floor trays, which are fit to the three dimensional walls of the foot well, are sturdier and less prone to deformation and shifting, yet still require placement and securing aids.
To aid in the placement and stability of floor covers and ultimately provide a more solid feel to the occupant's feet, vehicle manufacturers (commonly called original equipment manufacturers or OEMs) now usually place retention posts or other devices or structure in the vehicle foot wells. Often the floor mats or trays are designed to have respective apertures sized to accept the retention posts through them. However, retention post placement varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and may even vary from model to model. If the retention post placement is repositioned even a slight amount, the holes in the mats and trays will need to be likewise repositioned, requiring redesign of the mats and trays. In addition OEM mat retention systems vary widely; some use upstanding posts, others use hooks, still others use preformed holes or cavities in the foot well floor to which other fasteners are affixed. Some OEM retention devices terminate in a knob which is twisted to lock the mat or tray in place. The variance in OEM mat retention systems makes the provision of aftermarket floor mats and trays for these models more costly and less universal. Further, intentionally providing a hole through a vehicle floor cover necessarily reduces its ability to protect the carpeting underneath from debris and fluids.
Most OEM floor mat retention devices require a modicum of mental and physical effort on the part of the end user to effectively fasten the mat to the floor and, without the exercise of this level of care and effort, may not be adequately engaged. Thus a need exists for a vehicle retention post attachment device that can be used to secure a vehicle floor mat or tray without the need for an aperture in the mat or tray, and which relies on a more universal, passive and error-free means to prevent the lateral shifting of a floor mat or tray in a vehicle foot well.